I found a room. It's not what I imagined. I'm taking it. 🏠

[XMara]

I imagined a cute apartment. Maybe a balcony. Maybe a view. I found a room in a house off El Monte Road. Small. Carpet is old. Window faces a wall. No AC. Shared kitchen with three other people.

I almost said no. Then I met my future roommate.

She's a nursing student. Works at a coffee shop. Pays her own way. She said: "I'm here to study, not to live in luxury." Same.

The house has a backyard. Small. A lemon tree that might be dying. She's trying to revive it. There's a hammock. Stack of textbooks on the porch.

It's not cute. It's not what I imagined. But it's a room. It's a roof. It's a person who also needs to be here.

I'm signing the lease tomorrow. I'm scared of the cost. I'm scared of being far from campus. But I'm not homeless. That's something.

 

[Berta]

I lived in a house with a dying garden and three roommates. The carpet was brown. The kitchen was chaos. I remember it as one of the best years of my life. Not because of the house. Because of the people.

The nursing student sounds like a good one. The lemon tree might survive. You might too.

Sign the lease. Make it yours.